President Biden Extending Ban On Housing Foreclosures

Homeowners struggling financially during the pandemic are getting more breathing room before facing possible foreclosures.

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    WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the rise in cases was "disappointing but not surprising" and urged countries not to relax measures to fight the disease.It was too early for countries to rely solely on vaccination programs and abandon other measures, he said.Adding, "If countries rely solely on vaccines, they are making a mistake. Basic public health measures remain the foundation of the response."

  • Israel plans COVID jabs for Palestinian labourers and settlement workers

    Israel approved plans on Sunday to offer COVID-19 vaccines to Palestinians with Israeli work permits, a step a rights group said did not go far enough to safeguard Palestinians in occupied territory. The Palestinians have received relatively few doses to date and lag far behind Israel, which has vaccinated over one third of its population in one of the world's fastest roll-outs. After facing criticism for not extending its campaign to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, Israel agreed this month to give Palestinian health officials 5,000 Moderna Inc doses.

  • CPAC 2021: What will Trump say at the conference today and who else is speaking?

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  • Sen. Joe Manchin on ending the filibuster: 'Jesus Christ, what don't you understand about 'never'?'

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  • Marjorie Taylor Greene Demonizes Big Tech. She and Her Husband Just Sold Up to $210,000 in Tech Stocks.

    Drew Angerer/GettyWhen she was running for office, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) constantly antagonized tech giants like Facebook for allegedly censoring and silencing pro-Trump Republicans, and vowed to fight what she called the “Silicon Valley Cartel” after being elected to Congress.During her first two months on Capitol Hill, Greene has loudly ratcheted up the anti-tech rhetoric. But shortly after her swearing-in, she quietly moved to offload significant stock holdings in the very same companies she so vehemently denounced—netting a healthy sum in the process.According to her latest financial disclosure form, released on Feb. 19, Greene and her husband sold anywhere from $49,000 to $210,000 worth of shares in Facebook, Google, Apple, and Amazon on Jan. 20.It’s unclear exactly how much Greene and her husband, Perry, made from each individual company stock, since congressional forms only list broad value ranges, but it may have been as much as $65,000 each for the four tech stocks. Some shares were owned jointly between the couple and others were owned solely by her husband.Greene’s only other public financial disclosure form, filed in May 2020 when she was a candidate, lists joint or spousal ownership of up to $65,000 in Apple stock, $30,000 in Facebook stock, $30,000 in Amazon stock, and $15,000 in Google stock. The couple sold these holdings in January at a profit—the official form lists capital gains above $200—but the precise figure is unknown.The Sickening History of Marjorie Taylor Greene’s HometownIn light of the growing push from good-government advocates for lawmakers to sell off their holdings of individual stocks to avoid conflicts of interest, Greene’s sell-off could be perhaps welcomed. But her financial disclosure report shows she remains invested in a number of other companies, from Fortune 500 giants like Goldman Sachs and Lockheed Martin to the sports gambling platform DraftKings and activewear brand Lululemon.There’s also the plain irony that Greene was personally invested in, and later profited off, tech companies that she had excoriated for months as totalitarian tools of evil and social control. A spokesperson for Greene did not respond to requests for comment about her stock sale and why she invested in the companies to begin with.Like many hardcore Trump Republicans, Greene has oriented her politics around “cancel culture” and Big Tech’s alleged censorship of those promoting pro-Trump views. On her social media platforms, where she has hundreds of thousands of followers, Greene posts fresh, steaming outrage about them on a near-daily basis.Facebook, shares of which Greene and her husband sold for up to $65,000 net gain on Jan. 20, have been a constant target for her as a candidate and as a member of Congress. Last September, the platform removed a post from Greene in which she posed with a gun next to images of the progressive “Squad,” on the grounds it incited violence. The GOP candidate claimed she was being canceled and now wears a face mask in Congress with the message “CENSORED.”At various points in 2020, Greene called Facebook racist for promoting a message to support Black-owned businesses during the holiday season and slammed it as anti-semitic for censoring the far-right Islamophobic provocateur Laura Loomer. She also accused Facebook of allowing “ANTIFA” to carry out terrorist attacks and charged that the social media platform had “canceled our kids.”In October, when a Facebook spokesperson tweeted they would not link to a New York Post story on Hunter Biden, the Georgia Republican tweeted in outrage that “the Silicon Valley Cartel has taken the First Amendment and ripped it to shreds.”“When I get to Congress,” declared Greene, “Big Tech will be held accountable!”Ironically, in June 2020, the Facebook investor publicly called on her many thousands of followers to use a competitor instead. “For those of yall tired of being censored by Facebook,” she wrote, “I encourage you to open a Parler account today!”Greene has been less critical of the other tech companies she once owned, but her broadsides against the “Silicon Valley Cartel” leave little room for nuance, especially given Google, Amazon, and Apple’s dominance of the sector.Marjorie Taylor Greene Hangs Anti-Trans Sign Outside Office of Congresswoman With Trans DaughterGreene’s tech stock sell-offs could be interpreted as a sign she wished to sever any financial links to companies she had so stridently opposed. A Greene spokesperson did not respond to questions about why she and her husband sold the shares when they did.Barely two weeks after her stock sale, though, Greene was calling on like-minded conservatives to harness the free market system to develop alternatives to the tech companies she’d previously been financing.“Conservatives must join together to invest, develop, and compete in Big Tech in order to protect our conservative values and speech from the never ending cries of the thought police. This would give people the ability to choose the online “community” they invest themselves in,” tweeted Greene on Feb. 7.“The Silicon Valley cartel controlling social media, free speech, and even targeting to take down rising competition, like Parler, must be stopped. The way to stop it is in the free market, while we still can…”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

  • New Orleans Archdiocese Asks Catholics to Avoid Johnson & Johnson COVID Vaccine

    The Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans is asking Catholics to avoid the recently-approved Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, which it says is “morally compromised” by its “extensive use of abortion-derived cell lines.” In a statement on Friday, the archdiocese noted that while deciding whether to receive the vaccine is an individual choice, that “the latest vaccine from Janssen/Johnson & Johnson is morally compromised as it uses the abortion-derived cell line in development and production of the vaccine as well as the testing.” While a number of COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers have used cells originally derived from an aborted fetus in the 1970s, the archdiocese argues that Johnson & Johnson “extensive use” is worse than that of Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, which used the cells lines only to test their vaccines, according to Religion News Service. This makes the “connection to abortion … extremely remote,” in the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, the statement argues, recommending that Catholics choose one of those instead, if provided a choice. While the archdiocese claims the decision is in line with guidance from the Vatican, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Catholic Bioethics Center, none of the three have issued statements denouncing the new vaccine. In December, the Vatican issued general guidelines regarding vaccines in which the Holy See said it was “morally acceptable” for Catholics to receive shots that used the HEK293 cells for research. While the HEK293 cells are reportedly originated from an aborted fetus from the 1970s, ethicists have said that the cells and similar cell lines are clones and not the original fetal tissue. The Vatican has made the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine available for all Vatican City residents. Pope Francis reportedly received the shot in January. The Archdiocese of New Orleans’ statement comes after leaders of the USCCB and leaders from other religious organizations sent a letter to the commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last spring regarding ethical concerns over the COVID-19 vaccines. “We are aware that, among the dozens of vaccines currently in development, some are being produced using old cell lines that were created from the cells of aborted babies,” the letter read. “For example, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a substantial contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and is working on a vaccine that is being produced using one of these ethically problematic cell lines.” However, a USCCB memo written by Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, who chairs the USCCB’s Committee on Doctrine, and Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, who chairs the organization’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, argued that the vaccines are moral.

  • Why Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine is probably the best shot

    Some people might prefer Johnson & Johnson's shot because it was tested on variants, has milder side effects, and is easier to get.

  • Canada vaccine committee advises against use of AstraZeneca COVID-19 shots for 65 years and above

    Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization released new guidelines on Monday that advise against vaccinating people who are 65 years and older with AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, citing lack of information about efficacy in that age group. The vaccine was authorized for people who are 18 and older by drug regulator Health Canada on Friday. Health Canada's decision noted that available clinical trial data was too limited to reliably estimate how well the vaccine worked in people 65 and older.

  • A week after Alex Smith said Washington didn't want him during his incredible return from a scary leg injury, the team is expected to cut him

    Alex Smith is reportedly set to hit the free agent market this offseason and keep his career going over two years after suffering an injury that some thought was career-ending.

  • The White House says it never wants an assassination like Khashoggi's again, but won't punish MBS for ordering the killing

    Biden's White House has essentially leaned on the importance of the diplomatic relationship with Saudi Arabia in defense of its actions.

  • Most pregnant women globally say they would get the COVID-19 vaccine, but American moms-to-be are hesitant

    In a survey done last fall, pregnant women and mothers in the US and Russia were more hesitant to get vaccinated compared to those in other countries.

  • Royal Caribbean will be 'first' to offer 'fully vaccinated' cruise with sailings starting in Israel

    Royal Caribbean's new ship, Odyssey of the Seas is set to debut with departures from Israel with all passengers and crew over 16 vaccinated.

  • Hilaria and Alec Baldwin welcome 6th baby together nearly 6 months after birthing their son Eduardo

    The baby was born nearly sixth months after Hilaria Baldwin gave birth to her son Eduardo "Edu" Pao Lucas.

  • Jill Biden is traveling with newly confirmed Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on Wednesday

    Jill Biden will travel to Connecticut and Pennsylvania on Wednesday with newly confirmed Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, a testament to a first lady well on the move.Why it matters: Biden already is the only first lady to hold a full-time job. She also has a portfolio focused on education, cancer and veterans' issues. Now, she’s built a robust staff in the East Wing and is planning a busy travel schedule of her own.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeBiden will visit schools reopening under her husband's first-100-days pledge, reviewing practices and taking note of what does and doesn't work, a source familiar with her plans tells Axios.She'll lay the foundation Wednesday when she visits Waterford, Pennsylvania, and Meriden, Connecticut — Cardona's hometown, and where he spent two decades as a public educator.Her focus will be an extension of her strategy during the general election campaign, when she launched a multi-state educational tour to review school safety practices.Managing two full-time titles is nothing new for Biden, who continued teaching the eight years she was second lady. Her work now comes with a much bigger spotlight as wife of the president of the United States.Biden has been candid about her role as a political spouse, noting it hasn't come naturally to her.She set the stage for her tenure as first lady as one of her husband's most forceful campaign surrogates, offering personal testimony about his character. Independent and fiercely protective, the self-proclaimed “Philly girl” even pushed away hecklers several times as they tried to interrupt then-candidate Joe Biden on the trail.The first lady worked quickly to fill out the East Wing, bringing on seven commissioned staffers, including a chief of staff, speechwriter and policy director.Her eagerness to travel and promote her agenda is a change from Melania Trump, who didn't move to Washington until a few months after the inauguration because of her son's schooling and who had relatively few public appearances afterward.It also contrasts with Michelle Obama and Laura Bush, who ratcheted up their activities as their school-age daughters aged.Biden made her first solo trip last week, when she visited VCU Health's Massey Cancer Center in Richmond, Virginia. She advocated for cancer research, another of her major priorities as first lady.She also accompanied her husband to Houston last week to survey storm damage and help fill food pantry orders.When the couple returned to Washington amid pouring rain, the president stopped to speak with a commander at Joint Base Andrews. His wife's penchant for setting her own agenda became evident."Dr. Biden seemed to think they'd been out there long enough. She and the umbrella headed to the limo," pool reporter Todd J. Gillman wrote.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.

  • A man who refused to wear a mask at a high-school basketball game killed a police officer following a confrontation, authorities say

    The police officer, Martinus Mitchum, was fatally shot while trying to break up an altercation between a man and a school employee over face masks.

  • Local Florida officials are warning spring breakers to stay away from Miami and 'go to Vegas' if they don't plan on following new rules

    Miami Beach, Florida has implemented stricter safety protocols for the spring break season. This means no more alcohol consumption on the beach.

  • Senate Democrats prepare to advance the $1.9 trillion stimulus plan without a $15-an-hour minimum wage

    Democratic efforts to salvage the wage increase with a new tax plan collapsed over the weekend as Senate Democrats gear up to pass the stimulus bill.

  • Romney knocked unconscious in fall, but 'doing better'

    Sen. Mitt Romney said Monday that he was knocked unconscious in a fall over the weekend, but he was “doing better.” The Utah Republican said the accident happened when he was spending time with his grandchildren in Boston. “I had kind of a tough, tough weekend,” Romney joked.

  • Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shoots back at Ted Cruz, saying he treated storm-hit Texas as a 'layover' between trips to Cancun and CPAC

    "It appears Texas was just a layover stop for him between Cancun and Orlando to drop a pack of water into someone's trunk," Ocasio-Cortez said.